Date / Year of birth: 16th December 1955

Position: Striker

Season of first appearance: 1986/87

Season of last appearance: 1986/87

Also played for: Ashford Town, Hythe Town, Folkestone & Shepway, Maidstone United, Gillingham (6+2,1), Folkestone, Dover Athletic, Crawley Town, Hythe United, Folkestone Invicta and Rye United

Much-travelled 5' 9" tall prolific marksman with an abundance of flair and talent who was born in Evesham, Kent. Frank started his senior career with Ashford in 1971 and then moved to Hythe in 1972. He returned to Ashford in the summer of 1973 and made his first team debut during the 1973/74 season.

In September 1976 he moved to Folkestone and Frank was top scorer there for three consecutive seasons from 1976/77 to 1978/79. During 1977/78 he scored 34 goals, including a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Margate on 15.11.77, and he got 31 goals during 1978/79.

Frank's goalscoring exploits led to Maidstone paying Folkestone a club record fee of £4,500 for him in December 1979. He scored five goals for the Stones before the end of the 1979/80 campaign. During the 1980/81 season Frank scored 24 goals but in August 1981 he asked for a transfer. Maidstone turned down his request but said they wouldn't stand in Frank's way if a Football League club made an approach. He didn't have to wait long for a chance of professional football as in October 1981 Gillingham paid a fee in the region of £10,000 for Frank's services. He'd scored ten goals for the Stones in the early part of the 1981/82 season and during his time with the club Frank had won three caps for the England semi-professional side in matches against Holland, Scotland and Italy. All three appearances were as a substitute and they were all made in Italy during 1981.

Frank never established himself at Gillingham and he made only eight first team appearances, scoring once, during 1981/82 before returning to Maidstone in the summer of 1982 for a fee of £5,000.

Frank stayed with the club until rejoining Folkestone in the summer of 1984. In the first half of the 1984/85 season he scored 21 goals in only 19 games and they included one in a 5-1 win over Thanet United on 22.8.84. Frank also scored from the penalty spot in a 3-1 win at Thanet on 25.9.84 and then bagged a hat-trick as Folkestone crushed United 6-2 in an FA Trophy tie on 20.10.84. The Thanet Times report for the game said that he was "a master marksman". Frank scored over 100 goals for Folkestone, only the third player in the club's history to do so, before Maidstone resigned him halfway through 1984/85. He scored five goals in 24 games for the Stones before the end of the season.

In June 1985 Frank signed for Dover and he was their top scorer for the 1985/86 campaign, bagging 31 Southern League goals. The Thanet Times described him as being "wily" and "the fulcrum of the Dover strike force". During the season a Folkestone programme featured a profile on Frank's former team-mate Pat Hilton who listed receiving a cross from Frank in his 'moments to remember'.

Frank stayed with Dover for the 1986/87 campaign and again caught the eye of the Thanet local press. In September 1986 the Thanet Times called him "probably the sharpest goal-grabber in Kent" and "a cut above the average in county circles". On 4.11.86 he scored in a 3-0 win over Thanet at Dover and on 9.12.86 he got the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with United at Hartsdown Park, scoring with a free-kick that dipped over the defensive wall from 20 yards out. The Isle of Thanet Gazette said it was "one magic moment of opportunism" and an "exceptional" strike. Frank had scored 15 goals for Dover during the season when he made a surprise move to Thanet in January 1987.

The Isle of Thanet Gazette said that he was the club's "biggest - and most expensive - capture of recent years". The paper also said that Frank's signing was "a bold gamble" and "a clear hint of their (the club's) ambition". Dover's manager, a certain Chris Kinnear, wryly commented "I can't blame the player too much - everyone has his price."

Frank made his debut for Thanet on 17.1.87, Andover were the visitors to Hartsdown for a Southern League match and the game only went ahead after a large amount of snow had been cleared from the pitch. Typically Frank made a storming start to his United career, the Adscene said that he "turned on the style" and the Thanet Times described him as a "livewire". A foul on Frank led to a penalty which was duly despatched by Norman Fusco for the opening goal of the match and with the game poised at 2-2 he scored a sensational solo goal to win all three points for Thanet. Frank cut in from the left flank, beat three defenders - "as if they were not there" according to the Adscene - and then curled an exquisite shot into the top corner. The Adscene reported that one supporter was heard to say the goal "was worth the admission price to see" and the Thanet Times said it had come after a "mazy solo run".

A few days later United lost 1-0 to Sheppey at Hartsdown but the Isle of Thanet Gazette praised Frank's "non-stop efforts". He was then reunited with his long-time strike partner Neil Cugley for the home game against Chatham on 24.1.87. Cugley followed Frank from Dover and the two of them had also previously played alongside each other for Folkestone and Maidstone with great success. The Gazette said that Frank provided "moments of sheer magic" in the Chatham game although it finished goalless and the Thanet Times said that he was outstanding in another 0-0 draw at Waterlooville a few days later. He "might well have notched two or three goals with a little luck" according to the Gazette. Frank then displayed what the Times called "moments of wizardry" during a 3-1 defeat at home to Hastings on 7.2.87 but just couldn't seem to find the net. After five games without a goal he finally scored in a 3-2 defeat at Trowbridge on 21.2.87. The Times said that Frank "turned on a sixpence" to fire home and reported that he was "especially sprightly...with his darting runs and accurate shooting". The Thanet Extra said that he had "taunted" the Trowbridge defenders with his speed. The press plaudits kept on coming and according to the Gazette Frank "buzzed for 90 minutes" in a 0-0 draw at Hastings on 10.3.87, he was also described as being "will-of-the-wisp" and an "ace opportunist".

Soon after that Frank blotted his copy book when he was fined a week's wages by United manager Norman Fusco for turning out for Hythe, along with Cugley, in a Kent League match at Herne Bay on 28.3.87 without permission. Although not under contract with United the players failed to tell Fusco of their intentions, prompting him to say "what they did was morally wrong....they were out of order in simply going off to play for Hythe". Frank had scored in the match.

On 13.4.87 Frank played a starring role as Thanet beat Ramsgate 4-0 in the inaugural Isle of Thanet Gazette Cup game at Hartsdown. He tormented the Rams defence with his ball control and won two penalties through his dribbling skill. The Adscene said that the first one was awarded after Frank had made "numerous attempts to get a penalty" but his spot kick was saved by Bobby Miles. The second penalty, this time successfully converted, came after Frank had danced round the Ramsgate penalty area, the Adscene said that he was "finally upended after jinking round three men in the box".

As the season drew to a close Frank really hit top form and the Times said he was "a danger every time he had possession" in a 1-1 draw at Ashford on 18.4.87. On 25.4.87 Thanet faced Poole at Hartsdown in their final match of the campaign and Frank saved his best performance until last, scoring a hat-trick in a 5-0 win. One of his goals was a delicate chip and his treble took his overall record for the season to ten goals (four penalties) from 19 appearances. Nine of Frank's goals had come in his last 13 games and he only missed two matches after joining the club - two Eastern Floodlight Cup games against Dover, both due to being cup-tied.

Frank appeared in two pre-season friendlies for United prior to the start of the 1987/88 campaign, scoring in a 2-2 draw with Gillingham on 23.7.87 and also playing against a West Ham X1 on 30.7.87. However when he failed to appear in Thanet's opening competitive matches of the new season there was general confusion as to Frank's situation, prompting Norman Fusco to set the record straight in an interview published in the Thanet Gazette on 4.9.87. He told the paper "Frank did not bother to turn up for a couple of training sessions, but then decided he wanted to play for us, so we agreed terms. Now he has decided to go on holiday for a couple of weeks and I am not very happy about that." Fusco added "he seems to have decided that he is bigger than the club, which is certainly not the case. I would rather give a chance to someone who is prepared to battle for us." Unsurprisingly it meant that Frank's spell at Thanet was over and soon afterwards he rejoined Hythe.

In October 1987 Frank moved on to Crawley where he scored nine goals from 38 outings during 1987/88 and he then linked up with suddenly wealthy Kent League Hythe once again for the 1988/89 season.

After helping them into the Southern League Frank rejoined Folkestone in the summer of 1989 but after only two games he went back to Hythe and topped their goalscoring chart for the 1989/90 campaign. He also scored regularly for Hythe during 1990/91 and bagged a hat-trick in an 8-0 win over Chatham in a Kent Senior Trophy tie at Reachfields in November 1990.

In March 1991 Frank moved on to Ashford, another of his former clubs, after a row with the Hythe management. It was initially a loan deal but the transfer became permanent in the summer of 1991. On 26.8.91 he scored in a 2-2 draw at Margate and the Isle of Thanet Gazette wrote "some of the pace may have gone from the legs but Ovard's close control is still as sharp as ever".

In August 1992 Frank scored when making a guest appearance for Dover in Lennie Lee's testimonial against Crystal Palace and gave the youthful Palace defence a torrid time with his trickery.

Frank became player-manager of Kent County League Hythe United - formed after Hythe Town collapsed - for the 1992/93 campaign but carried on playing for Ashford when required as well as turning out for Hythe when possible during the season. On 8.12.92 Frank scored for Ashford in a 4-0 win at Margate after coming on as a substitute. The Isle of Thanet Gazette said that he could "still turn a man inside out in the tightest of spaces" and had "delighted so many pundits at numerous Kent clubs".

He resigned from his job with Hythe in the summer of 1993 but stayed at Ashford for the start of the 1993/94 campaign and by then Frank's overall career record for Ashford was 22 goals in 98 appearances. He also played for Folkestone Invicta in the Kent League during 1993/94 under a dual registration agreement and in August 1993 he scored in a 2-1 home defeat against Furness before scoring twice for Ashford in a 3-0 win over Buckingham just days later.

On the morning of 30.8.93 Frank bagged a hat-trick for Folkestone in a 5-1 home win over Whitstable before making a substitute appearance for Ashford in their 3-2 defeat at Margate in the afternoon.

He left Invicta early in 1994 and played for Kent County League outfit Rye United during the remainder of the 1993/94 season whilst continuing to make sporadic appearances for Ashford.

In the summer of 1994 Frank left both Ashford and Rye and rejoined Folkestone.

He played for Invicta during 1994/95 and 1995/96 before going back to Hythe again.

During the 1996/97 campaign Frank was up amongst the Kent League's leading scorers, despite being over 40 years old and he played for Hythe during 1997/98 too before finally retiring.

During the early part of his career Frank was in the Royal Marines and his son John later played for clubs including Folkestone, Dover and Ramsgate.

Frank was also an accomplished cricketer and regularly appeared for Hythe in the East Kent Cricket League.

In August 2003 Frank scored for a Maidstone Veterans team against a Tottenham Veterans X1 and reportedly looked as fit as ever at the age of 47.

In July 2013 he watched Margate's pre-season friendly at Ashford and a month later Frank turned out for a Folkestone Legends team in a charity match to celebrate former Thanet player John Lineham's 50th birthday. A host of other former Margate / Thanet players were also involved in the game.